Lost baggage tops the list of problems in British aviation, which has also become famous for flight delays, writes The Daily Telegraph. In 2007, Heathrow Airport became the leader in this area, surpassing other major European airports in the number of delayed flights. But not all records have been broken yet. British Airways loses so many suitcases (over 1.1 million in total) because it serves more passengers. Still, the title of the worst airline in Europe belongs not to it but to the Portuguese company TAP: in 2007, every thousand customers of this company missed 27.8 bags.
Regulatory bodies say that travelers are forced to endure inconveniences and also overpay: even if they eventually get their luggage back, they have to buy essential items, such as clothes, until then. “Whatever the mitigating circumstances, passengers checking in their luggage have the right to expect to see it upon arrival,” says a statement from the Air Transport Users Council (AUC).
Some airlines, such as EasyJet, Ryanair and Virgin, were not included in the AEA ranking, which was compiled on the basis of data provided by the airlines themselves. The AUC called on the European Commission to name and shame the offenders. “Passengers should not think that the entire aviation industry is like this,” a representative of the organization said. British Airways explains everything by poor service at Heathrow and restrictions on baggage, according to which passengers are allowed to take only one bag on board. “Although Heathrow still suffers from poorly tuned infrastructure, and passenger traffic is almost twice its capacity, we agree that sometimes the level of service is not as high as we would like,” a British Airways representative said.
“The record number of lost baggage recorded last summer coincided with the very rainy June and July in the UK, as well as with the catastrophically low level of security after the terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport. This led to a number of technical difficulties that also affected the quality of baggage services during these most intense months,” he added. According to AEA statistics, 35.5% of flights from Heathrow were delayed by more than 15 minutes. At Gatwick, things are not much better: 30.2% of planes departed a quarter of an hour late. On average, flights at Heathrow were delayed by 32.7 minutes, and at Gatwick by 31.7 minutes.